ORDER, ORDER: Screen judges

Robert Rinder brings complex legal process into the mainstream in his popular show (2pm, ITV). Here are a few of our favourite film and TV hits that feature fictional judges…

First Monday In October Ruth Loomis (Jill Clayburgh) is appointed to the Supreme Court in this lively 1981 comedy drama. Her conservatism clashes with older Associate Justice Walter Matthau’s more liberal outlook. Despite their ideological differences, they develop a mutual respect.

My Cousin Vinny Joe Pesci runs his mouth off as Vinny Gambini, a personal injury lawyer who defends his cousin in this sharply written 1992 comedy. Judge Haller (played by ex- Herman Munster Fred Gwynne, left) has little patience for Vinny’s chaotic style and lack of experience, frequently holding him in contempt of court. Judge Dredd Sylvester Stallone first brought the British comicbook lawman (below) to the big screen in 1995. In a crime-ridden dystopian future, Dredd saves time by being ‘judge, jury and executioner’.

The Simpsons Two judges are called upon to bring the citizens of Springfield to book. Judge Snyder is a pussycat compared to Judge Constance Harm (below, right). In her first appearance in the long-running cartoon sitcom, in 2001, Judge Harm ordered Bart and Homer to be tethered together as punishment after Homer abandons his troublesome son to wreak havoc.